Lawson State Community College (Lawson State, Lawson, LSCC) is a public, historically black

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

with campuses in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

and Bessemer, Alabama. The technical division of the college was founded as Wenonah State Technical Institute in Birmingham in 1949. Lawson State is accredited by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priva ...

, and offers nearly 200 associate degree and certificate programs. LSCC's athletic teams compete in the

Alabama Community College Conference The Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) is a collegiate athletic conference and is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and NJCAA Region 22. Sports *Baseball *Basketball *Golf *Softball *Tennis *Volleyball ...

(ACCC) of the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

(NJCAA). They are collectively known as the Cougars. In 2014, LSCC was announced as the leader of a four-year, $10 million federally-funded transportation industry training across four states. The college was ranked No. 5 on the ''Washington Monthlys Best Community Colleges list in 2013. The White House recognized LSCC as a "Champion of Change" in 2011 for its efforts to educate workers for its community.

History

The technical division of Lawson State was founded in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1949, when the Wallace Patterson State Trade School Act of 1947 permitted the establishment of Wenonah State Technical Institute. The school was created to offer trade courses to Black students. Dr. Theodore Alfred Lawson served as the first director of the school, which was renamed Wenonah Technical College in 1963. LSCC's academic division, Wenonah State Junior College, was established in 1965 under Alabama state legislature. Dr. Lawson served as the first president of the junior college, which was also designed to serve Black students, and was renamed Theodore Alfred Lawson State Junior College in his honor. On October 1, 1973, Wenonah Technical College and Theodore Alfred Lawson State Junior College merged to form T. A. Lawson State Community College at 3060 Wilson Road SW in Birmingham. This location is currently known as LSCC's Birmingham Campus. In 2005, Bessemer State Technical College was set to merge with LSCC as a part of a statewide effort to remove duplicate community college programs. The merger was officially approved by the Alabama State Board of Education and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in June 2005. As a result of the merger, Bessemer Technical College, located at 1100 Ninth Avenue SW in Bessemer, Alabama, became LSCC's Bessemer Campus.

Administration and organization

LSCC operates under four divisions: Business Technologies, College Transfer (

general education General Education is a 2012 comedy film, directed by Tom Morris, starring Chris Sheffield, Maiara Walsh, Elaine Hendrix, Bobby Campo, Janeane Garofalo and Larry Miller and produced by Pelican House Productions. The film was shot in Chico and G ...

), Technical and Health Professions Programs. LSCC's endowment had a market value of approximately $586,000 in the fiscal year that ended in 2019.

Academics and programs

LSCC has an open admissions policy and offers credits for life experience. The college offers

dual enrollment In the United States, dual enrollment (DE), also called concurrent enrollment, programs allow students to be enrolled in two separate, academically related institutions. Generally, it refers to high school students taking college or university cours ...

programs to local high school students, as well as a government-funded college preparatory program to students attending Birmingham-area high schools. In addition to its associate and certificate degree programs, LSCC offers adult education,

GED The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...

and fast-track career training courses. LSCC has transfer agreements with four-year institutions in Alabama. The agreements allow students to automatically transfer after completing an associate degree at LSCC. LSCC is a Student Support Services TRIO program participant. The government-funded program helps students who are educationally disadvantaged and disabled graduate from college, and supports low-income and first-generation college students in achieving their career and economic goals. LSCC's nursing program has ranked No. 1 in Alabama in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021.

Student life

Student body

As of fall 2020, LSCC's student body consists of 2,823 students. There are 42 percent full time and 58 percent part time students.

Organizations

Several student clubs and organizations operate at LSCC, including honors societies and student government, special interest and service organizations. Campus groups include: Ambassadors, American Welding Society and Human Services Club. LSCC holds "Miss Lawson State Community College", an annual

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

that honors a select group of current, high-achieving female students.

Athletics

The LSCC athletic association chairs four varsity athletic programs. The teams are collectively known as the Cougars. They belong to the

(ACCC) and Region 22 of the

(NJCAA). Men's sports include

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. Women's sports include basketball and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

. Although they are not affiliated with the NJCAA, LSCC also chairs a

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

squad and

dance team A dance squad or dance team, sometimes called a pom squad or song team, is a team of participants that participates in competitive dance. A dance squad can also include: a jazz squad, ballet squad, or any kind of religion dance squad. Dance squads ...

Presidents

* Dr. Theodore A. Lawson, 1949–1971 * Dr. Leon Kennedy, 1971–1978 * Dr. Jesse J. Lewis, 1978–1987 * Dr. Perry W. Ward, 1987–2020 * Dr. Cynthia T. Anthony, (interim: September 2020 – March 2021, acting: April 2021–present)

Notable alumni

* Coty Clarke, professional basketball player *

Mickell Gladness Mickell Jawaun Gladness (born July 26, 1986) is an American professional basketball player, who last played for Arka Gdynia of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). Gladness grew up in Alabama, played college basketball for Lawson State Community Co ...

, professional basketball player *

Johnny High Johnny Harold "Sky" High (April 25, 1957 – June 13, 1987) was an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the NBA. He spent four seasons with Phoenix and missed only one game in his first three years.

, former NBA player

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control Community colleges in Alabama Educational institutions established in 1950 Universities and colleges in Birmingham, Alabama Education in Jefferson County, Alabama Buildings and structures in Jefferson County, Alabama 1950 establishments in Alabama NJCAA athletics